What is the Casey Commission?
The Government has announced an independent commission into adult social care to be chaired by The Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB; the aim is to inform government of the work needed to deliver a National Care Service.
Split over two phases, the commission will set out a vision for adult social care, with recommended measures and a roadmap for delivery.
The first phase, reporting in mid-2026, will identify the critical issues facing adult social care and set out recommendations for effective reform and improvement in the medium term.
It will recommend tangible, pragmatic solutions that can be implemented in a phased way to lay the foundations for a National Care Service. The recommendations of this phase will be aligned with the government’s spending plans which will be set out at the Spending Review in the spring.
The second phase, reporting by 2028, will make longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care. It will build on the commission’s first phase to look at the model of care needed to address our ageing population, how services should be organised to deliver this, and how to best create a fair and affordable adult social care system for all.
NCF responds as DHSC announces Casey Commission on social care
NCF CEO, Vic Rayner commented on the DHSC announcement “We welcome the announcement of an independent commission into adult social care to be chaired by Baroness Casey which indicates the beginning of long-term reform for the sector and the development of a National Care Service. It is crucial that the commission includes the voices of people who draw on care and support and those who work tirelessly to deliver it. Only by hearing from those with the biggest stake in a well-functioning and resourced social care system will the commission be successful in its mission of delivering consistency of care that addresses the ongoing needs of older and disabled people. However, the timeframe for the commission must be shorter and we urge Baroness Casey to bring forward the work so these much needed changes can be seen within two years.”
“Whilst the commission makes ready, the need for urgent support for the sector continues. The commission will need to focus on the long term, however, it is imperative that the Secretary of State and the wider government understand that the pressures laid bare across the social care sector cannot wait. Building a social care system fit for the future can only be achieved by ensuring it is built on solid ground.”
“We have made our willingness to work with the government clear since the result of the 2024 General Election and we stand ready for that work to begin. Together with our not-for-profit members we want to help government develop a National Care Service built on these essential pillars:
- Make social care central to policy making and delivery
- Improve the pay, terms and conditions of the workforce
- Invest in people, not profit by supporting investment in not-for-profit care provision
- Create an industrial strategy for adult social care
- Support sustainability and decarbonisation in adult social care
- Enshrine rights, fairness and choice for people in a National Care Covenant”
Other plans set out in the announcement are:
- Government sets out immediate investment and reforms to improve adult social care and support the workforce.
- Package of support will deliver the government’s Plan for Change by helping to keep older people out of hospital and living at home independently, for longer.
- Thousands more disabled people to receive home adaptations as government improves technology and data sharing between NHS and social care.
The Care Provider Alliance (CPA) calls for acceleration of Casey commission schedule
Professor Vic Rayner OBE Chair of the Care Provider Alliance says: “The announcement of the Casey Commission is a welcome step in the move towards developing a fully functioning National Care Service. It is hoped that Baroness Casey will be able to move quickly to engage those receiving care and support, their families, the care workforce, those providing and commissioning social care as well as the wider public. For this to be the once in a generation shift needed, then all political parties and wider partners need to start from an understanding that the findings of this review lay out a long-term blueprint for change.”
“Social care matters to us all and this commission must lay to bed the prevarication and delay of both funding and reform that has bedevilled governments over too many years. With this in mind, the commission must move at a more rapid pace. We call on the commission to bring forward it’s timetable to allow for real change to happen within a two-year time frame.
“Work on the long term must not distract the government from the very real challenges facing social care right now. The CPA published detailed analysis in November 2024 outlining the critical pressures facing the sector, and it is essential that these issues are addressed now to ensure a sustainable social care sector exists for the future.”
A short biography of Baroness Casey of Blackstock
Baroness Casey was made head of the Rough Sleepers’ Unit in 1999, where she successfully led the strategy to reduce the numbers of people living on the streets by two thirds. She went on to hold several leadership positions including the Director of the national Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, the Respect Task Force and the Troubled Families programme, as well as the UK’s first Victims’ Commissioner.
She left the civil service in 2017 to establish the Institute for Global Homelessness, with the aim of delivering an international solution to homelessness across the world. In 2020, Baroness Casey returned to public service to support the Government’s COVID-19 rough sleeping response and developed the “Everyone In” strategy.
Baroness Casey has led a series of high-profile reviews including the review into culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police and the Rotherham investigation.
More about the Casey review
Click here to find out more about the terms of the Casey Review
About the National Care Forum
The National Care Forum brings together more than 170 of the UK’s leading social care organisations, representing large numbers of care providers, offering thousands of services across the country, which are not for profit and always at the heart of community provision. Collectively, these organisations deliver more than £2.3 billion of social care and support to more than 277,000 people. The NCF membership body collectively employs more than 124,000 staff and 14,000 volunteers. BCOP is a member of NCF.
Read more about NCF here @NCFCareForum @vicrayner @NCF_Liz
NCF has developed what it sees as the essential policy pillars on which a National Care Service should be built which can be viewed here.
About the Care Provider Alliance
The Care Provider Alliance is a coalition of 10 associations, including the National care Forum (NCF). We advocate for the sector and ensure a coordinated response to the major issues that affect it.
We represent private, voluntary and community sector care providers in England. Some members also represent services in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. The Care Provider Alliance speaks for the whole of the adult social care sector, including care homes; home care services; housing with care; integrated retirement communities; shared lives schemes; services for people with learning disabilities and autism; mental health and community-based support. Members support children, adults of working age and older people. Local authorities, health bodies or private individuals purchase care from providers.
We reach over 95% of all care and support provider organisations, in a sector with 1.6 million employees helping people to live good-quality, independent lives. The scale of our sector’s work is vast, affecting the lives of over 10 million adults at any given time, including people using formal and informal care, care workers, and unpaid carers.
The Care Provider Alliance is an informal body. Members take it in turns to lead the CPA and the Chair changes each year.
Read more about the Care Provider Alliance here
